Editor’s note: Saturday Tradition’s annual Crystal Ball series continues today with Rutgers. We’ll stay with the B1G East all week. Next week, we’ll predict every game for every B1G West team.

It seemed like every sports media member said Rutgers had to have Greg Schiano, and lo and behold, every sports media member was right. Schiano fits Rutgers, that much was clear in 2020.

The Scarlet Knights had lost double-digit games in 3 of the previous 4 seasons, with just a 9-39 record during that span. In the last 5 years, Rutgers had been 4-40 against the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights were as good as an automatic win as it gets in a Power 5 conference, aside from Kansas.

Rutgers entered last season on a 21-game losing streak in the Big Ten, and Schiano ended that in the very first game with a surprising win at Michigan State.

Really, this team was a few plays away from going 6-3 in the Big Ten, as it also lost by 3 to Illinois, by 6 to Michigan in triple overtime and by 7 to Nebraska. Can you imagine if Schiano had pulled that off in Year 1?

The momentum is clearly building as Schiano enters his 2nd season of this stint and 13th overall at Rutgers.

But where exactly is the ceiling?

That’s my question. How good can a team be without at least an above-average QB? When you look at some of the breakthrough teams from the last few years, they all had very good QB play. Tanner Morgan was nearly flawless in 2019 for Minnesota, ditto for Michael Penix Jr. for Indiana in 2020. Northwestern is probably the road map for Rutgers, as Peyton Ramsey wasn’t spectacular. But the Wildcats have the luxury of playing in the West and not having to worry about Ohio State.

Rutgers can finish in the top half of the East, no doubt about it. But the margin for error is small. Noah Vedral is in the lowest tier of Big Ten QBs in terms of natural ability, but Schiano is extremely high on him and his leadership abilities, based on his comments at Big Ten Media Days.

The offense needs to improve

The good news is that all 11 starters are back on offense. The bad news is those guys weren’t very good in 2020. Rutgers averaged a B1G-worst 4.59 yards per play (118th nationally).

Rutgers has its top 6 pass catchers back, led by Bo Melton, who was honorable mention All-B1G. Isaiah Pacheco averaged 4.4 yards per carry. The issues will be a below-average offensive line and whether or not Vedral can make enough plays.

Offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson was crafty in using 3 QBs and working in some trick plays, but there’s only so much a coach can do. Defenses will be ready for the trick plays this season.

The future, though, is bright

Schiano sure can recruit. While recruiting rankings can change quickly, he has the No. 4 class in the Big Ten (and No. 15 nationally) in 2022, which is his first full cycle back at Rutgers. He has 5 blue-chip recruits, including 4-star QB Gavin Wimsatt from Kentucky.

If Schiano can stack a few of these classes together, Rutgers will go from being a plucky upstart (which is where I’d put them right now) to a team that can finish in the top half of the conference on a consistent basis and go to bowl games every year. Come to think of it, that’s what Schiano did in his first go-around at Rutgers, though this time he’s going up against Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State every year instead of Cincinnati, West Virginia and Louisville.

It’s admittedly a tall task, but Schiano is off to as good of a start as Rutgers could’ve imagined.

Game-by-game predictions

Week 1: vs. Temple (W)

Temple is one of the worst teams in the AAC, and that should allow Rutgers to get off to a strong start. It will face Georgia transfer D’Wan Mathis, who is expected to start at QB.

Week 2: at Syracuse (W)

Syracuse will pull a random upset every now and again (just ask Clemson), but the Orange have really struggled under Dino Babers (outside of going 10-3 in 2018) and are coming off a 1-10 season.

Week 3: vs. Delaware (W)

This is a neat renewal of a regional rivalry as Rutgers leads the all-time series 15-13, but the teams haven’t met since 1973. Rutgers hasn’t had much trouble with FCS teams of late, either, so no cause for concern here.

Week 4: at Michigan (L)

There is a game each year that every team would like to have back. The Michigan game is that one for Rutgers, which led by 17 at one point but lost in triple overtime. With fans back at the Big House, this will be a tough task for the Scarlet Knights.

Week 5: vs. Ohio State (L)

Most everyone is going to lose to Ohio State, so the best thing is to at least make it memorable. Rutgers did that last season with a couple touchdowns on trick plays. The Buckeyes won’t be fooled this time around, I’m sure, and without the element of surprise, it could get lopsided.

Week 6: vs. Michigan State (W)

This season opener last year was illuminating on a few fronts, as it revealed just how far Michigan State has to go and just how much of a difference a coach makes for Rutgers. The Spartans still haven’t solved their QB issues, so advantage Scarlet Knights.

Week 7: at Northwestern (W)

This could be a transition year for Northwestern, which returns just 8 starters. Rutgers, with its 21 starters back, is more equipped to win right now.

Week 8: Bye

Week 9: at Illinois (W)

Illinois is hoping that first-year head coach Bret Bielema has the same sort of impact culturally that Schiano had in his first season. With Rutgers a year ahead of Illinois on that front, I’ll take the Scarlet Knights.

Week 10: vs. Wisconsin (L)

Going up against one of the top defenses in the country without a play-making QB makes for a tough day at the office for Rutgers.

Week 11: at Indiana (L)

This isn’t a great matchup for Rutgers, which doesn’t have strong enough QB play to put up points against a very good Indiana secondary.

Week 12: at Penn State (L)

Rutgers has lost 14 straight against Penn State dating to 1988. Somewhat unbelievably, the Scarlet Knights have scored a total of 39 points against the Nittany Lions since joining the Big Ten, an average of 5.6 points per game. This is clearly a bad matchup for Rutgers.

Week 13: vs. Maryland (L)

Rutgers pulled this one out last year, but Maryland was without star QB Taulia Tagovailoa. He makes a big difference for the Terrapins, who upset Minnesota and Penn State last year with him in the lineup.

2021 projection: 6-6, 6th in B1G East

Rutgers hasn’t made a bowl game since 2014, which was 3 years removed from Schiano’s first stint, so to make a bowl game this season would be huge for this program.

I certainly think it’s possible with a manageable non-conference schedule and winnable crossover games against Northwestern and Illinois.

Rutgers will reinforce this season that it is no longer the automatic win that it has mostly been since joining the Big Ten.